Officials have charged a Nigerian man with attempting to blow up a plane upon landing in Detroit.
Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, 23, is set to make his initial court appearance later today, Fox News reported. He is accused of setting off a device aboard a Northwest flight upon landing in Detroit, which resulted in a fire and what appears to have been an explosion.
Abdulmutallab was subdued and restrained by the passengers and flight crew. The airplane landed shortly thereafter, and he was taken into custody by Customs and Border Patrol officers.
A preliminary FBI analysis found that the device contained PETN, also known as pentaerythritol, a high explosive, according to Fox News. FBI agents recovered what appear to be the remnants of the syringe from the vicinity of Abdulmutallab's seat, believed to have been part of the device.Law enforcement officials say the alleged Christmas Day terrorist will be charged in Detroit with trying to blow up a plane.
Mutallab allegedly tried to ignite an explosive device onboard a Northwest Airlines plane from Amsterdam just before it landed in Detroit on Friday.
He allegedly claimed to have been instructed by al-Qaida to detonate the plane over U.S. soil.
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